Kings Island Orion Roller Coaster Construction Progressing On Schedule

Construction on the new Orion roller coaster at Kings Island is entering into the ascending helix of the ride erection. The site development and ride control systems are progressing well and on schedule as the calendar turns to mid-January. 

Set to debut when Kings Island opens for the 2020 season on April 11, Orion will be one of only seven giga coasters in the world. Coasters in that category have a height or drop of 300 feet to 399 feet.

Themed to the park’s new Area 72, the ride features the latest prototype vehicle developed by the Project X initiative. Scientists are in a race against time to develop technology capable of weaving transport vehicles through a coming meteor storm and traveling to a new planet within the Orion constellation. For the program to be successful, it needs volunteers to help with testing.

Riders on Orion will plummet down a 300-foot first drop at an 85-degree angle and then traverse over seven more hills at speeds up to 91 mph along 5,321 feet of track on the tallest, fastest and longest steel coaster at Kings Island.

One of the most highly-anticipated new rides in the amusement and theme park industry this year, Orion was exclusively designed for Kings Island by Switzerland-based Bolliger & Mabillard, which also designed the park’s popular Banshee and Diamondback roller coasters.